What does מָהַר · לֵב mean in the Bible?
מָהַר · לֵב is a Hebrew phrase meaning "hasty, anxious, fearful of heart".
Hebrew · H4116, H3820
נִמְהֲרֵי־לֵב
Properly, to be liquid or flow easily, i.e. (by implication); to hurry (in a good or a bad sense); often used (with another verb) adverbially, promptly · the heart ; also used (figuratively) very widely for the feelings , the will and even the intellect ; likewise for the centre of anything
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Words in this compound — expand to study each participant
מָהַר H4116 properly, to be liquid or flow easily, i.e. (by implication); to hurry (in a good or a bad sense); often used (with another verb) adverbially, promptly
Pronunciation māhar
Metaphorically flows from physical liquidity to urgency; means both eager promptness and reckless haste.
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לֵב H3820 the heart ; also used (figuratively) very widely for the feelings , the will and even the intellect ; likewise for the centre of anything
Pronunciation lev
The seat of will, intellect, and emotion—the inner moral and spiritual center governing all human motivation and choice.
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What does נִמְהֲרֵי־לֵב (nimhare lev) mean in the Bible?
מָהַר · לֵב is a Hebrew phrase meaning "hasty, anxious, fearful of heart".
Full entry for נִמְהֲרֵי־לֵב (H4116, H3820) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How many biblical occurrences are listed for H4116, H3820?
H4116, H3820 is connected to 660 lexical occurrence verses in the lexicon data.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew phrase. hasty, anxious, fearful of heart
Source Gloss
hasty, anxious, fearful of heart
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 3 Aligned forms 29
Piel intensive active — emphasizes thoroughness or repeated action 26×
Sequential imperfect 1Sam 9:12 · 2Chr 18:8 · Esth 6:10 · Gen 19:22 · 2Sam 15:14 · Esth 5:5 · Gen 45:9 · Judg 9:48 · Gen 18:6 9×
Perfect 2Chr 24:5 · Isa 49:17 · Ps 106:13 · 1Sam 4:14 · Isa 51:14 · 1Sam 25:34 · Exod 2:18 · Gen 27:20 · Jer 48:16 9×
Imperfect 2Sam 15:14 · Isa 5:19 · 2Chr 24:5 · Isa 32:4 · Nah 2:6 5×
Participle active Mal 3:5 · Prov 6:18 2×
Jussive Eccl 5:1 1×
Niphal passive or reflexive — the subject receives or experiences the action 2×
Participle active Isa 32:4 1×
Perfect Job 5:13 1×
Qal basic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense 1×
Perfect Ps 16:4 1×
Word Origins
נִמְהֲרֵי־לֵב is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain